Good security makes good business sense. Along with other risks, such as accidents or natural disasters, the possibility of a terrorist attack should be considered as part of a business’ risk management plan.
Businesses can minimise the impact of terrorism by having adequate risk management and business continuity plans in place. These plans need to consider physical security, information security and personnel security.
The Australian Government is working hard to reduce the risk of terrorism. Recent initiatives include an increased intelligence capacity, strengthened defence forces, the updating of anti-terrorism laws and comprehensive testing of Australia’s counter-terrorism arrangements under the National Counter-Terrorism Plan.
The Business-Government Advisory Group on National Security brings together the Attorney-General, senior Australian Government Ministers (as appropriate) and major business leaders whose companies or organisations may have an interest in national security matters.
This group gives business leaders the opportunity to advise the Government on a broad range of national security issues and gives the Government a forum to discuss proposed security initiatives and developments with the business community.
Places of mass gathering include a diverse range of facilities, from sporting venues to public transport hubs. They are characterised by having a large concentration of people on a predictable basis and often have a minimum of security controls present because of their need to allow public access.
Places of mass gathering pose a broad range of unique security challenges for their owners and operators. The importance of protecting these places has been acknowledged by the Australian Government and State and Territory governments.
As work relating to the protection of these places is primarily terrorism-related, the National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC) coordinates a national approach to protecting places of mass gathering.
The Australian Government is also working with the owners and operators of our critical infrastructure to ensure that the systems we rely on, such as power, water, banking, communications, food, transport, health and emergency services, are resilient to all hazards, including terrorism.
On 30 June 2010, the Australian Government released its Critical Infrastructure Resilience Strategy. A key imperative of the strategy is to have an effective business-government partnership with critical infrastructure owners and operators.
The Trusted Information Sharing Network for Critical Infrastructure Resilience is one avenue for this partnership.
Australia’s State and Territory governments can also advise businesses in their jurisdictions about their programs for security awareness.
Further information is available on the Protecting Australian business from terrorism web page.
Publications
The Australian Government’s Critical Infrastructure Resilience Strategy aims to achieve the continued provision of essential services that support Australia’s national security, economic prosperity, and social and community wellbeing in the face of all hazards.
The Good Security—Good Business booklet aims to raise awareness about risk management and business continuity amongst small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Infrastructure information in the public domain - A guide to mitigating security risks provides organisations and businesses with general, practical and effective advice on how to manage information they have made, or are considering making, publicly available.